What is Texas Hold'em?
Texas Hold'em is the most widely played form of poker. Each player gets two private hole cards, and five shared community cards are dealt face up in the middle. Your hand is the best five cards you can make from those seven, using both hole cards, one or none.
You win the pot with the best hand at the showdown, or by betting so that everyone else folds first. Ping44 plays no-limit Hold'em: on your turn you can bet any amount up to all your chips.
How to play Texas Hold'em
The button and the blinds
Seats are drawn at random when the game starts. One player holds the dealer button (D), and the next two players post the small blind (SB) and big blind (BB), forced bets that start every pot. The button moves one seat along after every hand. With only two players, the button posts the small blind and acts first before the flop.
A hand, step by step
- Pre-flop: everyone gets two hole cards that only they can see. The player after the big blind acts first.
- The flop: three community cards are dealt face up, then a betting round starting with the first player still in after the button.
- The turn: a fourth community card, then another betting round.
- The river: the fifth community card, then the final betting round.
- Showdown: the best five-card hand left wins the pot. If everyone else folds earlier, the last player in wins it straight away.
On your turn you can fold (give up the hand), check (pass, when nobody has bet), call (match the bet), raise (by at least the size of the last bet or raise, and never by less than the big blind) or go all-in.
All-ins and side pots
If you go all-in for less than others have bet, you can only win what you put in from each player: the main pot. Extra chips go into a side pot that only the players who covered them can win, and Ping44 works out every side pot for you. An all-in smaller than a full raise doesn't reopen the betting for players who have already acted (the standard incomplete-raise rule). When nobody can bet any more because players are all-in, the rest of the board is dealt at once. If a pot splits unevenly, the odd chip goes to the first winner after the button.
Hand rankings, best to worst
- Royal flush: A, K, Q, J and 10 of the same suit.
- Straight flush: five cards in sequence, all of the same suit.
- Four of a kind: four cards of the same rank.
- Full house: three of a kind plus a pair.
- Flush: five cards of the same suit, not in sequence.
- Straight: five cards in sequence of mixed suits. The ace counts high (10-J-Q-K-A) or low (A-2-3-4-5).
- Three of a kind: three cards of the same rank.
- Two pair: two different pairs.
- One pair: two cards of the same rank.
- High card: no combination, so the highest card plays.
All suits are equal. When two hands share a rank, the higher remaining cards (kickers) decide, and identical hands split the pot.
Who sees which cards
During a hand, your two cards are sent only to you: nobody else's screen or browser receives them. When the hand ends, Ping44 shows everyone's cards to the whole table, folded hands included (dimmed). It's a friendly-game rule that helps everyone learn, and it means your bluffs get seen.
Poker settings on Ping44
The host sets these in Game settings before the game starts.
- Starting chips: 100 to 50,000 (default 1,000), covering at least five big blinds.
- Blinds: for example 50/100 (the default), 100/200 or 200/400. The big blind is twice the small blind, and the blinds stay the same all game.
- Turn timer: untimed, 20 or 30 seconds, or 1, 2 or 5 minutes (default 30 seconds). When time runs out you check if you can, or fold. "No timer for first round" gives new players a relaxed first hand.
- Until quit (the default length): a player who busts sits out one hand, then gets a fresh starting stack.
- Until bust: play on until one player has all the chips.
- 5, 10 or 20 hands: the most chips after the last hand wins.
Results stay on screen for five seconds before the next hand is dealt; the host can pause that countdown and deal when everyone's ready. A friend who arrives mid-game takes a free seat at the next hand with the starting stack.
Scoring on Ping44
The chips you win or lose each hand are added to your score on the room's scoreboard. When the game ends, the player with the most chips wins (players tied on chips share the win), and it counts on their stats. "Play again" starts a fresh game with new stacks while the room's scores carry on.
Tips and strategy
- Start tight. Big pairs (aces, kings, queens) and strong aces such as ace-king are worth raising; most other hands are worth folding before the flop.
- Use your position. The button acts last in every betting round from the flop on, so you can play a few more hands there and fewer just after the blinds.
- Watch your stack against the blinds. When you're down to a handful of big blinds, pick a decent hand and go all-in rather than slowly bleeding away.
- Bluff with care. It works best against one or two opponents, and the whole table sees it afterwards.
How to start a game of poker on Ping44
- Go to ping44.com, sign in (free, with email or Google) and create a room, choosing whether to switch on voice chat. Friends don't need an account: they join as guests with just a name.
- Share the invite link, the 6-character room code or the QR code.
- In the lobby, pick Card, then choose Poker in Game settings.
- Set the chips, blinds, timer and game length, then start. With more than 10 people in the room, move the extras to spectators first.
Why play poker on Ping44
- No real money, ever. Chips are virtual, with no cash value: nothing to buy and nothing to cash out.
- A fair deal. The deck is shuffled with a cryptographically secure random source, and the server deals, runs the betting and splits the side pots.
- Table talk with built-in voice and text chat.
- More casino-style games in the same room: Blackjack, Baccarat and Hi-Lo, all with play chips (see casino games), plus our other card games.
- Free, with no ads, in English, French and Vietnamese, on phones, tablets and computers.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ping44 poker played for real money?
No. Poker on Ping44 uses virtual chips with no cash value. You can't buy chips, cash them out or win anything with them: they only keep score. The game is free, with no ads.
How many people can play poker on Ping44?
2 to 10 players at the table. A room holds up to 100 people, so everyone else can watch as a spectator.
What beats what in Texas Hold'em?
From best to worst: royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, high card. Your hand is the best five of your two hole cards and the five community cards.
What happens when I run out of chips?
In "Until quit" you sit out one hand, then get a fresh starting stack. In "Until bust" you're out, and the game ends when one player has every chip. In a 5, 10 or 20-hand game you sit out until it ends.
Does Ping44 show everyone's cards at the end of a hand?
Yes. During a hand only you can see your two cards. When it ends, every player's cards are shown to the whole table, folded hands included, so everyone can learn from them.
What happens if a player takes too long or disconnects?
With a turn timer set, a player who runs out of time checks if they can and folds otherwise. A signed-in player who disconnects has 15 seconds to come back; after that they're folded for the rest of the hand but keep their seat and chips.
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